Veermani was a king of Devpur. He was a devotee of Lord Shiva. He gained a boon from Shiva to protect his kingdom from all difficulties whenever he called out for his Lord. He was a good king and an ally of King Rama of Ayodhya. He had two notorious sons, Rukmaangad and Subhangad.
King Rama conducted ashwamedh yagya, where a white horse carrying the royal crest of Ayodhya would travel across the country. All those who accepted the sovereignty of King Rama would allow the horse to pass through their kingdom unhindered. Those who would challenge the passage of the horse would be challenged by the army that followed it into a war. This accompanying army of Ayodhya was led by Prince Shatrughana, younger brother to the king.
Prince Rukmaangad and Prince Subhangad of Devpur got a liking to the majestic horse and captured it. This brought the kingdom of Devpur into war with Ayodhya's army. When King Veermani came to know about the misdeed of his sons, this being the ashwamedh horse of Ayodhya, understood immediately the misfortune his kingdom had landed into. Being the king, it was his solemn duty and dharma to fight the war triggered by this misdeed of his sons.
In the war, the army of Ayodhya quickly annihilated the army of Devpur. Sensing a defeat King Veermani invoked the support of Lord Shiva for protection. The Lord came to the battlefield with his army of gana led by Nandi. The army of Ayodhya stood almost defeated at the hands of gana. This is when Shatrughan sent out a message to Ayodhya for additional reinforcement. A larger army arrived from Ayodhya and they too were defeated by the gana. Moreover, Prince Lakshman, Prince Bharat, and Prince Shatrughan the three younger brothers to the king were all incapacitated. All their weapons were exhausted. King Rama has no option but to enter the battlefield himself.
King Rama was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Lord Rama was himself a devotee of Lord Shiva. Both the Lords faced each other and the dual went on for years with no definite outcome. Everything else started to suffer as all Gods were absorbed in this war and the world was neglected. Lord Brahma, afraid that his creations would come to an end went to meet Lord Shiva to get a solution.
Lord Shiva said that this was his dharma to fight on behalf of King Veermani whom he had promised to protect. He did suggest a way out. Lord Rama has got Shiva’s Pashupatiastra as a boon from a rishi Vishwamitra. This weapon once invoked could destroy all creations and nothing can remain undefeated. If Rama used that weapon on Shiva, then Lord Shiva would be defeated.
Lord Hanuman, the param bhakt of Lord Rama, was an avatar of Shiva himself. Hanuman convinced Lord Rama to invoke the Pashupatiastra as a divine solution to end the war. Lord Rama prayed his respect to Lord Shiva before he used the weapon, invoking it, and used it on Shiva Himself. Lord Shiva absorbed it into Himself and stood defeated. Thus ending the war.
Happy with Lord Rama’s victory, Lord Shiva gave a boon, and all the dead soldiers from Ayodhya and Devpur got back their lives. King Veermani, defeated, returned the ashwamedh horse his sons had captured. King Rama returned the kingdom of Devlok back to Veermani and reinstated him as the king.
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